Adeline Richards, 2nd Hour, World History Class, Journal Assignment, 1/11/07
Date: 1/11/07
Location: Hubbardston, MI
Found At: (watched it on television and also found it on the internet) http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5927029&nav=menu44_2
Event: Billie Cunningham (80 years old) died on December 1st 2006. At first it appeared as though she had fell off a step ladder hanging Christmas decorations and shattered a huge mirror, got cut, and bled to death. After the scene had been inspected it was revealed that it couldn’t have possibly been an accident. "Although we're not calling it a homicide, we are certainly treating it as such today," Said Dwain Dennis, Ionia County Sheriff. Her family didn’t believe it was an accident and neither did some of the people who were there to take care of the scene. By the pattern of the blood and the location of the Santa Claus statue after it had been thrown or pushed, the investigators don’t believe it was an accident either. They are currently investigating the case and have a person of interest, but have not reported any suspects thus far.
Response: The lack of information and detail of the televised report is almost sickening. I can’t believe it took this long to even be put in the news. I have known Billie since I was born and she knew my mother way before that. I can’t believe this happened to her…She was always kind to everyone and she always had a special treat bag for me and my brother on Halloween…I still remember the last time I talked to her at the old Hubbardston elementary school that is now the Hubbardston Community Center…When I saw the report on the news. I felt numb, partly because I still don’t believe it, and because it felt weird to see something that affects my life more directly than other reports on television because I am not used to seeing things like that happen. The most sad thing about this is that Billie would have forgiven whoever did this to her. I hold no hate for the person that has done this, but they don’t realize the ripples they start when they throw a stone into a pond. If you affect one person in some way, you will indirectly affect the others around them until the disturbance comes back to you full circle. Others call this karma. I believe in it. This quote is only proof that law enforcement either don‘t like doing their job in Hubbardston, or they just don‘t care: “The sheriff tells 24 Hour News 8 that he hopes in the end detectives prove this was an accident.”. Knowing how law enforcement is slow in Hubbardston for anything that happens (probably just because we are Hubbardston and they think they can be slow because of that), it may take a very long time for them to solve this case, but I know one day it will be solved, it just means the pond the ripples are in may be an ocean and it will take longer for them to reach their creator.
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This was the news report:
Suspicious death in Ionia County
Updated: Jan 11, 2007 06:28 PM EST
Billie Cunningham
Billie Cunningham's House
HUBBARDSTON -- Tragic accident or homicide? That is what detectives in Ionia County are trying to figure out after new evidence surfaced in the early December death of a lifelong resident in the small town of Hubbardston.
She was a pillar of the community. Billie Cunningham was born and raised in Hubbardston.
"She knew everybody. Everybody knew her," Julie Cunningham, Billie's daughter, told 24 Hour News 8.
But when authorities ruled Billie's December 1 death an accident, the family had questions.
"Thought it was strange...just couldn't believe what we we're being told about it being an accident," says Julie.
And now, investigators are questioning those findings, too.
"Although we're not calling it a homicide, we are certainly treating it as such today," Ionia County Sheriff Dwain Dennis said.
Billie Cunningham was found dead in the home she grew up in and raised her family in on Washington Street. Was it an accident?
That seemed to make the most sense to investigators in the beginning. They theorized she was on a step ladder hanging Christmas decorations when she fell into a large mirror. The mirror broke, cutting Cunningham. She then bled to death.
But the family's persistence for detectives to not close the case led them to new evidence.
"Some things have come to light since then that have caused us to take a fresh look at this case," says the sheriff.
One example is a broken ceramic Santa Claus.
"The position of that Santa Claus has raised some questions as to whether or not the owner of the home could have left that ceramic Santa Claus in the position that it was in," adds Sheriff Dennis.
The location of blood from the victim has also led to some new questions.
So were investigators too quick to jump to conclusions early on in the case? The sheriff admits his department got off to a slow start.
As for the victim's family, "It would have been nice if they had moved faster, but it's being taken care of now, and that's what's important," says Julie.
The sheriff tells 24 Hour News 8 that he hopes in the end detectives prove this was an accident.
Investigators are still questioning people, and Sheriff Dennis is calling one of those a person of interest. No arrests have been made.
If you have any information about this case, you are asked to call the Ionia County Sheriff's Department or Silent Observer.
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Exams are next week, so I'll be busy, but I'll try to post if I get the chance.
Song Of The Day: "Lights" - Journey
One of my many vocal inspirations
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